Thatcham BSI Kitemark® wins safety award
Press release - 13 March 2008
Development of low cost scheme is boosted with trade accolade.
The positive impact of the Thatcham BSI Kitemark scheme for vehicle body repair has been recognised after it scooped the ‘best safety initiative of the year’ accolade at the Fleet News Awards.
The scheme is a result of a unique collaboration between the British Standards Institution (BSI) and Thatcham, the motor insurance repair research centre.
To earn the Thatcham BSI Kitemark, the vehicle body repair workshop must prove that it conforms to tough standards. These include skills, repair methods, equipment and materials. All these elements are assessed by independent BSI inspectors and must meet stringent benchmarks in order to achieve the valuable Kitemark status.
The Kitemark scheme costs less than £2,500 in the first year. For a typical body shop, that’s about £1 per repair job in terms of showing the customer it is serious about safety.
Scott Hanney, BSI’s key account sales manager said: “It’s about educating the market place and bringing standards up. There’s a huge amount of interest in this from insurers, work providers, fleet companies and manufacturers.
Jason Moseley, Thatcham’s director of quality and business systems emphasised: “This is not us saying body repairers don’t know what they’re doing. The majority do a very good job. However, the Kitemark proves they’re doing the right thing. If there are any unscrupulous traders, they will be excluded from the industry.”
For more details on how to achieve the Thatcham BSI Kitemark visit www.bsigroup.com
BSI Product Services:
With its Global HQ in Hemel Hempstead, UK, BSI Product Services is the testing and certification arm of the world-renowned BSI Group. BSI’s testing and certification capabilities are amongst the most highly-rated in the world. BSI provides product/service testing and certification to UK, European and International standards and is the UKAS accredited Notified Body for 17 of the New Approach EU Directives.
About the Kitemark:
The Kitemark is one of the most respected product quality marks in the world, demonstrating that a wide range of products from lighting to fire extinguishers conform to standards, ensuring that vital safety and performance requirements are met.
The word Kitemark and the Kitemark logo are registered trade marks of BSI. A combination of a quality based system, such as BS EN ISO 9001 or a similar quality system; with advanced product/service testing provide the basis for a Kitemark scheme offering trust, integrity and quality.
BSI Product Services is part of BSI Group, a global independent business services organization that inspires confidence and delivers assurance to customers with standards-based solutions. Originating as the world’s first national standards body, the Group has over 2,250 staff operating in over 100 countries through more than 50 global offices. The Group’s key offerings are:
- The development and sale of private, national and international standards and supporting information
- Second and third-party management systems assessment and certification
- Product testing and certification of services and products
- Performance management software solutions
- Training services in support of standards implementation and business best practice.
For further information please visit www.bsigroup.com
